Cagiva is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. The company was founded in 1950 by Giovanni Castiglioni in Varese and initially produced small metal parts. The name is an acronym derived from the founder's surname "Giovanni Castiglioni" and the place where the company was founded, namely CAstiglioni GIovanni VArese.
To its credit, Cagiva has race wins in Dakar and Motocross events, as well as Grand Prix motorcycle races.
In 1978, Cagiva entered the motorcycle business with two racing motorcycles ridden by Gianfranco Bonera and Marco Lucchinelli. In the same year, the Varese factory was purchased from Aermachhi/AMF-Harley-Davidson and motorcycle production began.
By 1979, the company reached an annual production of 40,000 motorcycles, with eight models powered by two-stroke engines ranging from 125 cc to 350 cc.
Many Harley-Davidson models continued in production as Cagiva, and the off-road motorcycle division was improved and expanded, eventually producing its own race-winning WMX series of cross-country motorcycles.
In 1983, Cagiva also acquired Ducati four-stroke V-twin engines ranging from 350cc to 1000cc. Cagiva bought Ducati in 1985 retaining the Ducati brand, which was better recognized outside Italy. Production of Ducati motorcycles continued in Bologna, and the Varese-produced Cagiva Ala Azzurra (sold as "Alazzurra", "Bluewing") and Elefant were launched, both equipped with Ducati engines.
Cagiva successively bought out Moto Morini in 1985 and Husqvarna in 1987.
In 1999, for strategic reasons, the company underwent a restructuring. MV Agusta Motor became the main brand including Cagiva and Husqvarna.
In 2000, production of the Cagiva Roadster was discontinued. In 2008, Harley-Davidson bought MV Agusta Motor, the controlling company of Cagiva, thus regaining control of its old factory in Aermachhi.
In October 2009, Harley-Davidson announced that it would put Cagiva up for sale. The following August, Cagiva was bought back by the son of founder and former owner Claudio Castiglioni.
Production of the new large-capacity Mitos engine was discontinued in 2012.
The last motorcycles of the Cagiva brand were the Raptor and the 125cc Mito. The Cagiva brand is no longer active and production is focused on MV Agust.